Type setting device for postage meters

ABSTRACT

A one-finger postage amount setting device in a postage meter includes setting means, switching means and a pivotable clutch lever supporting the setting means. The clutch lever is pivotable between a first position in which the setting means and the switching means are in operative engagement, and a second position in which the setting means and the switching means are operatively disengaged. A locking lever is pivotally mounted on the clutch lever, and fixed locking means are engageable by the locking lever for maintaining the clutch lever in the first position thereof. First spring means bias the clutch lever in a direction from the first position to the second position thereof, and second spring means bias the locking lever into resilient engagement with the fixed locking means in the first position of the clutch lever. The setting means includes a drive gear, pawl means cooperatively engaging the drive gear, and a locking plate pivotally mounted on the clutch lever. The locking lever has a projection for locking the locking plate against the pawl in the second position of the clutch lever, and is movable for unlocking the locking plate from the pawl in the first position of the clutch lever.

United States Patent 1 1 Miiller et al.

[ July 10, 1973 TYPE SETTING DEVICE FOR POSTAGE METERS [76] Inventors: Wilhelm Miiller, Kurzroderstr. 8;

' Friedrich Hell, Kreuzstr. 53, both of Frankfurt, Germany [22] Filed: Jan. 13, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 217,454

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Jan. 15, 1971 Germany P 21 01 708.3

521 US. Cl. 101/91 511 1111.01 3413 7/02, B41] 47/58 581 Field 61 Search 101/91, 110; 235/101 [56] References Cited I UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,727,460 12/1955 Russell 101/91 2,844,093 7/l958 Reitz 101/91 3,002,686 10/1961 1161161111. 235/101 3,078,791 2/l963 Heil lOl/l l0v 3,170,392 2/ 965' Senmag 101 91 Primary Examiner-William B. Penn, Attorney Arthur E. Wilfond, Herbert L. Lerner et a1.

[ ABSTRACT A one-finger postage amount setting device in a postage meter includes setting means, switching means and a pivotable clutch lever supporting the setting means. The clutch lever is pivotable-between a first position in which the setting means and the switching means are in operative engagement, and a second position in which the setting means and the switching means are operatively disengaged. A locking lever is pivotally mounted on the clutch lever, and fixed locking means are engageable by the locking lever for maintaining the clutch lever in the first position thereof. First spring means bias the clutch lever in a direction from the first position to the second position thereof, and second spring means bias the locking lever into resilient engagement with the fixed locking means in the first position of the I clutch lever. The setting means includes a drive gear, pawl means cooperatively engaging the drive gear, and a locking plate pivotally mounted on the clutch lever. The locking lever has a projection for locking the locking plate against the pawl in the second position of the clutch lever, and is movable for unlocking the locking ver.

3 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures t me:

plate from the pawl in the first position of the clutch le- PATENTEnJuu 0191a sum 2 or 3 TYPE SETTING DEVICE FOR POSTAGE METERS The invention relates to a one-finger device for setting the amount of postage in postage meters. More particularly, the invention relates to such device as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,392 of H. Sonntag which includes selector means, type adjusting means, a pivotable coupling lever supporting the selector means, the coupling lever having a first limit position for causing operative engagement between the selector means and the type adjusting means and the coupling lever having a second limit position for causing operative disengagement of the selector means from the type adjusting means, a latching lever pivotally mounted on the coupling lever, fixed latching means engageable by the latching lever for maintaining the coupling lever in the first limit position thereof, first spring means biasing the coupling lever in a direction from the first limit position thereof to the second limit position thereof, and second spring means tending to cause resilient engagement between the latching lever and the fixed latching means.

In the postage meter, preferably a roller stamping machine of the type disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,l70,392, the settings of the amount of postage are introduced by a manually adjustable clutch lever which supports setting or selecting means that include selector discs with handles and adjusting gears with pawls.

The clutch lever is pivotable between a rest position thereof and an operating position thereof. lnthe operating position, the selector discs and selector gears coordinated therewith are brought into engagement with a switching drum or cylinder and a type or printing drum or cylinder, the postage meter, in heretofore known manner, being prevented from revolving by pawls which engage with the switching cylinder and the type cylinder. The pawls for the selector gears are released when the clutch lever is transferred from the rest position thereof to the operating position thereof, the release of the pawls taking effect just before the clutch lever snaps into the operating position thereof.

To disengage or unlock the pawls, they slide along a locking pin which is secured to the plate. The adjustment means for releasing the pawls just before the clutch lever snaps into the operating position thereof is expensive, because the locking pin is disposed on the fixed plate, and the bearing play of the clutch lever, the selector gears and the pawls must be taken into consideration.

After protracted use, the bearing play changes and, due to wear of the sliding pawls, the switching points also change, so that trouble can occur if postage amounts can be set or selected before the operating position of the clutch lever is reached, i.e., when the revolution of the postage meter in the switching cylinder and the type cylinder has not yet been completed and the postage meter has not yet been locked in place. Discrepancies in the intended or nominal positions between the selector discs and the switching cylinder or type cylinder, respectively, are also caused thereby.

In the known construction of the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,392, the clutch lever is transferable, by using one finger, from the rest position thereof to the operating position thereof and, through spring action, again back to the rest position thereof. How-- ever, it is necessary, in the operating position of the clutch lever to set or select the postage amount with a second handle, an operation which is time-comsuming when the postage amount has to be changed frequently.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a one-finger postage amount setting device in a postage meter which avoids the aforementioned disadvantages of the heretofore known device or devices of this general type, and which has an improved operation over the operation of the prior art of this type.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, there is therefore provided, in accordance with the invention, in a postage meter, a onefinger postage amount setting device comprising setting means, switching means, a pivotable clutch lever supporting the setting means, the clutch lever being pivotable between a first position in which the setting means and the switching means are in operative engagement, and a second position in which the setting means and the switching means are operatively disengaged, a locking lever pivotally mounted on the clutch lever, fixed locking means engageable by the locking lever for maintaining the clutch lever in the first position thereof, first spring means biasing the I clutch lever in a direction from the first position to the second position thereof, second spring means biasing the locking lever into resilient engagement with the fixed locking means in the first position of the clutch lever, the setting means including a drive gear, pawl means cooperatively engaging the drive gear, a locking plate pivotally mounted on the clutch lever, the locking lever having a projection for locking the locking plate against the pawl in the second position of the clutch lever, the locking lever being movable for unlocking the locking plate from the pawl in the first position of the clutch lever.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, tension spring means are connected to the locking plate, the locking plate being pivotable against bias of said tension spring means and being in resiliently yieldable operative connection with the pawl means. This construction makes it possible, by placing one finger on the handles of the postage amount setting discs to transfer the clutch lever from its rest position into its operating position, to set a new postage amount without changing the finger.

Furthermore, increasing bearing play due to use for years has no detrimental effect, because adjustment of pawls for the setting or selecting mechanism, as in the device of U.S. Pat. No. 3,170,392, is no longer necessary.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as one-finger device for setting the amount of postage in postage meters, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications may be made therein without depart-ing from the spirit of the invention and within the. scope and range of equivalents of the claims.

The invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view partly broken away of the amount setting device of the invention shown in a phase thereof wherein the clutch lever is in rest position and the pawl of the drive gear is locked;

FIG. 2 shows the device of FIG. 1 in another phase thereof wherein the clutch lever is in operating position and the drive gear pawl is released; and

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the amount setting device as seen from the opposite side of FIGS. 1 and 2 and showing the setting discs thereof.

Referring now to the drawings and first particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, a clutch lever l of the amount setting device of the invention is pivotally secured to a support plate 3 by means of a bearing pin 2 and is drawn by the force of a spring 4 against a stop pin 5 which is fixed to the support frame 3. The spring 4 is fastened to a U-shaped support bracket 6 which is securely mounted on the clutch lever l.

A locking lever 7 is mounted on the support angle 6 by means of a bearing pin 8 so as to be pivotable against the biasing force of a spring 9. The locking lever 7 is provided with a handle 10, a detent pin 11 and a locking projection 7a. By means of the spring 9, the locking lever 7 is rotated so that the free end face of the detent pin 11 is forced against the plate 3. A cutout or recess 3a is formed in the plate 3, and the detent'pin 11 is insertable therein after the clutch lever l is rotated from the position thereof, shown in FIG. 1 to the position thereof shown in FIG. 2.

Setting discs 12 (FIGS. 1 to 3), each provided with a handle 12 and a drive gear 13 are mounted on a drive shaft 14, which is made upof several conventional telescopic shaft parts on which individual setting discs 12a and 12b and drive gears 13 are, respectively, mounted. The entire setting unit or device, made up of the setting discs 12, 12a, 12b, the drive gear or drive gears 13 and the drive shaft 14 are mounted on the clutch lever 1 and a support plate 17 secured to the clutch lever 1 by pins or bolts and 16. A pawl 18 is additionally pivotally mounted on the pin 15, and is pivotable thereon against the biasing tension of a spring 19. A pin or bolt 20, fixed to the clutch lever l, secures the spring 19 in fixed relationship to the frame. The pawl 18 lockingly engages resiliently in the space between a respective pair of teeth of the drive gear 13.

A locking plate 21 which, due to the tension of a spring 22, is caused to abut against the pawl 18 so as to lock the latter (FIG. 1), is mounted on the pin 16. The locking plate 21 is formed with a cutout orrecess 21a which is within the range of the pivoting motion of the locking projection 7a of the locking lever 7.

The clutch lever 1 is furthermore, provided with locking projections 1a and 1b, which are required for blocking the postage meter. A switching cylinder or drum 23 with a switching or indexing gear 24, as well as a detent disc 25 formed with a cutout or recess 250, are additionally mounted on the plate 3. The other parts of the switching cylinder 23 are not shown in the drawing as they are unnecessary for an understanding of the invention, and the illustration thereof would only tend to obscure important details of the inventive device.

The operation of the setting device of the invention is as follows:

In order to set a given value such as an amount of postage, the adjusting disc 12 is displaced, as shown in FIG. 3, in the direction of the arrow by applying adequate pressure with a finger 26 to the handle 12. The clutch lever 1 then rotates initially together with the entire setting device, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in counterclockwise direction about the bearing pin 2, because the pawl 18 is locked between a pair of teeth of the drive gear 13 by the locking plate 21, which rests against it, so that it cannot be released from-the gear 13.

At the completion of the pivoting movement of the clutch lever 1, the drive gear 13 meshes with the switching or indexing gear 24 of the switching cylinder 23, as shown in FIG. 2. Simultaneously, the locking lever 7 (FIG. 2) pivots backwardly, i.e., counterclockwise as viewed from the left-hand side of FIG. 2, due to the spring pressure 9, so that the detent pin 11 is engageable in the cutout or recess 3a of the plate 3. Due to this automatic pivoting motion of the locking lever 7, the locking projection 7a travels to a location above the cutout or recess 21a formed in the locking plate 21, and the latter pivots counterclockwise, as viewed in FIG. 2, due to the pressure exerted thereon by the pawl 18 so that, by applying further pressure with the finger 26 to the handle 12, the setting disc 12 is adjustable stepwise to the desired value of the postage. During this setting or adjusting movement, the postage nmler is blocked due to the fact that the locking projection In is received in the cutout 25a of the detent disc 25, and the locking projection lb is received in a nonillustrated blocking device of the postage meter.

After the amount of postage has been set, the adjusting finger 26 of the operator pushes the locking lever 7 slightly toward the front, i.e., clockwise as viewed from the left-hand side of FIG. 2, after removing the finger 26 from the handle 12', so that the detent pin 11 pivots away from the cutout or recess 3a. As soon as the engaged or locked position of the detent pin 11 or the locking lever 7, respectively, is nullified, the clutch lever l is transferred automatically from the operating position (FIG. 2) to the rest position (FIG. 1) thereof by the biasing action of the spring 4; the locking plate 21 being again engageable and locked by'the locking projection 7a.

Through this feature, true single finger operation of postage amount setting is achieved with a minimum expenditure of parts, and the time required for setting the amount of postage is shortened.

We claim:

1. In a postage meter having settable typewheels for printing postage amounts, a one finger postage amount setting device comprising setting means, switching means, a pivotable clutch lever supporting said setting means, said clutch lever being pivotable between a first position in which said setting means and said switching means are in operative engagement, and a second position in which said setting means and said switching means are operativelydisengaged, a locking lever pivotally mounted on said clutch lever, fixed locking means engageable by said locking lever for maintaining said clutch lever in said first position thereof, first spring means biasing said clutch lever in a direction from said first position to said second position thereof, second spring means biasing said locking lever into resilient engagement with said fixed locking means in said first position of saidclutch lever, said setting means including a drive gear, pawl means cooperativelyengaging said drive gear, a locking plate pivotally mounted on said clutch lever, said locking lever having a projection for locking said locking plate against said pawl in said second position of said clutch lever, said locking lever being movable for unlocking said locking plate from said pawl in said first position of said clutch lever.

3. One-finger postage amount setting device according to claim 1 wherein said locking plate is formed with a recess and, in said first position of said clutch lever,

1 said projection of said locking lever-is received in said recess.

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- Data-d July 10; i973 Patent No. 3,74U-Jl10 LIA/321C ied tha'terror anpear s in the above-- It is certif and that said Letters Patent are fnere tc d as shoxmbelow:

oycprrec In the heading to the} printed specification, there should be include dz. -Assigne e Ahker' -werke AG. ..'Bi e1efeld,

' Germany-- si ned and sealed this 17th aa jbf December 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

. Commissionerof Patents I 

1. In a postage meter having settable type wheels for printing postage amounts, a one finger postage amount setting device comprising setting means, switching means, a pivotable clutch lever supporting said setting means, said clutch lever being pivotable between a first position in which said setting means and said switching means are in operative engagement, and a second position in which said setting means and said switching means are operatively disengaged, a locking lever pivotally mounted on said clutch lever, fixed locking means engageable by said locking lever for maintaining said clutch lever in said first position thereof, first spring means biasing said clutch lever in a direction from said first position to said second position thereof, second spring means biasing said locking lever into resilient engagement with said fixed locking means in said first position of said clutch lever, said setting means including a drive gear, pawl means cooperatively engaging said drive gear, a locking plate pivotally mounted on said clutch lever, said locking lever having a projection for locking said locking plate against said pawl in said second position of said clutch lever, said locking lever being movable for unlocking said locking plate from said pawl in said first position of said clutch lever.
 2. One-finger postage amount setting device according to claim 1, tension spring means connected to said locking plate, said locking plate being pivotable against bias of said tension spring means and beiNg in resiliently yieldable operative connection with said pawl means.
 3. One-finger postage amount setting device according to claim 1 wherein said locking plate is formed with a recess and, in said first position of said clutch lever, said projection of said locking lever is received in said recess. 